Chapter 786

Patron, you have already entered the demonic path.

The burly monk shook his head slightly from afar at Wu Tie, his mouth flashing like thunder as he loudly rebuked: "The sea of suffering is boundless; turning back is the shore… Enter my scarlet lotus, and I will protect you completely."

Wu Tie looked at the burly monk with the gaze of one looking at an idiot: "You lot, do you want to die?"

Wu Tie repeated his words again.

The burly monk's face turned extremely solemn; he stared fixedly at Wu Tie, threads of golden light spraying from his mouth as he pointed at Wu Tie and shouted loudly: "Heretical demon, be banned!"

A supremely strong force surged from the void; Wu Tie faintly saw a near‑transparent, golden‑dragon‑shaped shackle silently winding itself around him. The shackle had dozens of claws, each flickering with a faint golden light, baring fangs and brandishing claws as it latched onto Wu Tie's vital spots all over his body.

Wu Tie cursed with a grim face, his left hand flashing with a faint white light as he unleashed a myriad‑changes calamity strike.

With a "hum", the golden‑dragon shackle violently trembled; within the shackle, which was tens of zhang long, a great amount of rosy light and auspicious qi sprayed out, countless runes whirling chaotically, the shackle's internal power thrown into disorder, twisting and spasming as it fell from the air.

With a "boom", waves tens of zhang high splashed up from the sea below; the golden‑dragon shackle, extraordinarily heavy, swiftly sank toward the seabed.

The burly monk stared blankly, then pointed his hand at the sea surface and loudly uttered a spell.

The golden‑dragon shackle flickered with spiritual light, trying to rise into the air, but Wu Tie's myriad‑changes calamity strike nearly shattered all its seals and formations inside; the shackle thrashed like a grass snake whose spine had been shaken apart, struggling wildly yet unable to fly back up.

"The demonic flames blaze; the Buddha is merciful, caring for all the world's people—this poor monk can only resort to thunderous means to subdue demons and eliminate evil." The burly monk looked at Wu Tie with a gloomy expression, a look of sorrow for heaven and pity for humanity, then heaved a deep sigh.

"Patron, I give you one last chance—turn back from your lost path, it is not too late yet!" The burly monk pointed solemnly at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie glared at the monk with a grim face and angrily roared: "Monk, state your name!"

The burly monk stared blankly, then laughed: "I am at fault for my rudeness; I am the chief senior disciple of the Vajra Hall of the Flaming Scarlet Lotus Temple, Fan Long, honored as the current generation's foremost Vajra protector of the Flaming Scarlet Lotus Temple, having attained the bodhisattva fruit, styled the 'Victorious Warrior Bodhisattva'."

Wu Tie continued with a grim face, coldly saying: "Fan Long? Fan Kun said his true form is a kun‑peng; what extraordinary background do you have?"

Fan Long gave a slight smile and nodded: "I am not of an exotic lineage but a proper human…… However, when I was young, my secular ancestor used great divine power, bathing my flesh in the essence blood of a primordial candle dragon, granting me the power of the candle dragon; thus my master bestowed this dharma name upon me, making me Fan Long."

Wu Tie nodded: "You have a secular ancestor? You come from a wealthy clan of the Flaming Dynasty?"

Fan Long nodded with an honest, simple expression: "Indeed, my secular family are the lords of the Wind State of the Flaming Dynasty…… The Wind clan is the surname of the Flaming Dynasty, and the Wind State has existed since the founding of the Flaming Dynasty, an ancient Wind State, a close branch of the Flaming Dynasty's royal line."

Wu Tie nodded in understanding: "So that's how it is, Fan Long—today you've caused trouble for this king; aren't you afraid that in the future this king will exterminate your whole clan?"

A mass of demonic fire rose in Wu Tie's heart with a "peng peng peng" sound, his eyeballs bloodshot as he gazed at Fan Long—his look was ferociously cruel, violently tyrannical, truly like a raving demon's head, with not a trace of humanity left in his eyes.

He anxiously pursued the return of Pei Feng, while Bai Wen and Bai Wu and others remained silent; Fan Long then brought a large crowd to thrust a knife sideways, and the demonic fire in Wu Tie's heart hated nothing more than to burn a hole through heaven and earth.

Fan Long smiled and shook his head: "Patron, you cannot."

Wu Tie stared coldly at him: "You say, this king cannot?"

Fan Long nodded seriously: "Yes, patron, you cannot. Do you know how many king‑gods my Wind State has? How many heaven‑gods? And how many primeval 'ancient treasures' suppress the fortune? You, a mere barbarian nation…… you cannot."

A sharp whistle rang out, and the Yin‑Yang Daoist leapt fiercely from behind Wu Tie.

Black‑and‑white spiritual light flickered; a great roc covering tens of thousands of li in radius burst from a tiny narrow‑necked vase, its whole body flashing black‑and‑white light as it opened its mouth, unleashing streams of black‑and‑white lightning at Fan Long.

Fan Long gave a light, contemptuous smile and gently shook his head at Wu Tie.

He extended his hand and grabbed at the black‑and‑white lightning.

The moment the black‑and‑white lightning touched Fan Long's palm, the lightning dissipated, and strands of black‑and‑white innate spiritual qi flowed along his arm and then down his body.

Fan Long chuckled lightly: "Even a pearl the size of a grain of rice can shine…… that's all."

Before his words faded, the black‑and‑white qi enveloping Fan Long suddenly tightened; the innate yin‑yang qi bottle hovering behind the Yin‑Yang Daoist emitted a clear, cold rumble, and countless black‑and‑white runes sprayed from within the bottle, forming black‑and‑white vortices that swept toward Fan Long.

Fan Long's face changed slightly; he let out a low growl, and though he had been about ten zhang tall, his body suddenly swelled to roughly a thousand zhang.

On his head sprouted brilliant, dazzling dragon horns; his whole body was covered in blazing, eye‑catching dragon scales, and his head took the shape of an ancient, primeval dragon's head. It was an extraordinarily strange dragon head: deep‑set eye sockets with tightly shut eyes, yet in the center of his forehead stood a massive candle, its tip blazing with a fist‑sized flame.

"Mercy embraces the heart!" Fan Long flung open his eyes and loudly chanted toward Wu Tie.

"Mercy embraces the heart"—these four words turned into rolling sound waves that surged outward in all directions of the universe.

Wu Tie was struck by that sound wave; instantly the black‑and‑white spiritual light around him churned violently, Wu Tie himself and the Yin‑Yang Daoist beside him shuddered and each spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Turning back is the shore!" Seeing Wu Tie and the Yin‑Yang Daoist so weak, especially noticing the black‑and‑white qi spraying from Wu Tie's side being burned by the fierce fire nearby into wisps of green smoke, Fan Long could not help but burst into loud laughter.

"Martial King, the great calamity is imminent—what are you still hesitating about?" Fan Long burst out laughing: "Only by relying on my Scarlet Lotus Temple can you protect your subjects, your kin, and those you cherish and hold dear."

"To rely, or to bring your cherished myriad things to annihilation—what else do you have to hesitate about?"

"The Buddha is merciful, good, good…… Martial King, your conduct is ferociously brutal, ruthlessly cruel and heartless…… you are truly a demon possessed……"

Fan Long spoke at length, here loudly criticizing all of Wu Tie's wrongdoings.

Wu Tie drew a deep breath, then his body swelled once again.

In an instant, Wu Tie swelled to a height of thirty‑six thousand zhang, and he slowly brought down a punch toward Fan Long.

"This king also embraces mercy, and I shall help you attain liberation!"